In this abundantly illustrated, sassy look at rodeo cowgirls of the past and present, the Oregonian author of The Cowgirl's Cookbook here celebrates dozens of female trick riders and performers who have been a part of Wild West shows, races, rodeos, and fairs since the 1880s. As Jill Stanford tells it, Bertha Blancett excelled at Roman riding at the Pendleton Round-Up, winning the race and the purse countless times. Others dazzled the crowds throughout the rodeo and fair circuit of the 1920s, including Fox Hastings, who ran away from convent school to join the rodeo and took on bucking horses at 14, and Florence Hughes, ten-time World Champion Cowgirl Trick Rider.